I get to travel quite a bit playing music, and this year has found us in Nashville, Indiana several times for gigs.

I love traveling almost as much as I love playing music. I very seldom eat at a chain restaurant while traveling (or while at home, for that matter), instead, I prefer to sample those little, out of the way, mom and pop places.

This was not my first trip to the ordinary, I’ve been here 3 or 4 times before, and I’ve had a burger here before, and one time I got a steak dinner, which, as I recall, was exceptional.

The Ordinary looks like an old barn on the inside…large beams and rafters, and it’s all done in very dark wood. There are paintings and photographs from local artists on the walls. The main dining room is a non smoking, all ages dining area, however, if you prefer, you can enter through a separate door in the alley into the “speakeasy”, which is 21 and over only and is smoking friendly. We chose to eat in the dining room, as we had our 5 year old nephew with us.

Since I had dined here before and been quite satisfied, I had high hopes for this sandwich. I asked the waiter (who, by the way, was an OUTSTANDING server) about the tenderloin, and he said “We’ve never had any complaints”. One of my dining partners asked if they had a grilled tenderloin as well as a breaded, and he advised us that no, they don’t. That made me wonder if they hand bread their tenderloins, but I didn’t ask, I simply ordered one.

I was sorely disappointed. What I got was a flat, thin, pork fritter. The flavor of the meat was OK, however, I did encounter 2 significant pieces of gristle in the sandwich, which made my opinion of it even less.

The sandwich was served on a barely toasted bun, with the usual condiments. The sandwich goes for $9.50(!) with chips, if you want to upgrade to fries, it’s $1.00 more. $10.50 for a frozen pork fritter and fries. Ummm, thanks, but no thanks.

On the up side…if you’re wanting a burger, there’s a great one here. Holly had a Tilapia filet sandwich and called it “outstanding”, and even though I’m not much of a fish eater, it certainly looked and smelled great.

But if you want a good, breaded tenderloin sandwich…this is NOT the place to go. On my scale of 1-5 bites, I’m going to give the Ordinary a 1.5. The $10.50 price tag for a sandwich and fries drops it to a 1. Really, really a major disappointment.
The Ordinary is located at 61 S Van Buren Street, Nashville, Indiana.